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Brian Lund is a freelance writer, author, and financial executive with almost 30 years of market experience. He writes prose about the markets and finance with an occasional poetic slice of pop culture. He is the author of Trading: The Best of the Best - Top Trading Tips For Our Times, and has made numerous appearances on CNBC. A native Californian, he lives in Orange County with his wife and two children.

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With the major stock indexes at or near all-time highs, lots of people are thinking about investing in the market –- some for the first time, and some who pulled out and have been waiting on the sidelines since the financial crisis of 2008.

But no matter what your experience level, there are several straightforward techniques you that can help you be a more successful investor. Here are five things you should keep in mind when putting your money to work for you in the market.

1. Start By Determining Your 'Type' and Your Strategy

Before you put a dime into the stock market, it is crucial that you determine what type of investor you are and what your strategy will be.

Are you a buy-and-hold type, in the equities you buy for the long haul, or are you a more nimble investor who tries to take advantage of stocks and sectors while they are hot? The answers to these questions will be crucial in determining how you approach your investing.

If you are a long-term investor, your strategy might be to look at value stocks or growth stocks, always keeping an eye on the fundamentals of the underlying company.

If you are a shorter-term investor, you will probably want to look at technical analysis, a way to use price and volume date to determine when to enter and exit stocks.

But no matter what your style or strategy is, you should always make sure that it is one grounded in sound risk management.

2. Don't Over-Diversify

Though at first this might seem counterintuitive, too much diversification in your stock portfolio is a bad thing. With too many holdings spread out across too many sectors or industries, you will be dependent on the whole market to rise to bring a good return. And though you won't be hurt dramatically if one stock tanks, neither will you benefit it one outperforms the broad market.

Legendary investor William O'Neil, the founder of Investor's Business Daily, suggests that the average investor allocate funds among three or maybe four different stocks at most, and then be hyper-vigilant on managing those stocks.

The trick then is to cut your losers quick, let your winners run and reallocate the cash from your sales into better-performing stocks. This helps make sure you always have the majority of your investing capital in the best companies at all times.

3. Only Invest What You Can Afford to Lose

One of the secrets to successful investing in the stock market is to try to stay as unemotional about your stocks as you can. This allows you to manage your portfolio with a clear head and make changes when needed.

One of the best ways to remove emotions from your investing is to make sure that you never risk an amount that is more than you can afford to lose. The chance that you would lose all your investing capital –- even in the worst bear market -– is pretty slim, but knowing that in a worst-case scenario, you can absorb the damage and come out the other side is reassuring, and will let you sleep soundly at night.

4. Stay Away From Big Bargains

Most of us have a natural inclination to want to buy things when they are cheap. It is something that society instills in us from the time we first learn the value of money. But the stock market works in the opposite way.

Sales occur when there is too much inventory and too few buyers. That is why we look for them when buying a car, or a TV or an appliance. But in all those cases, we're buying wasting assets -– things that are guaranteed to go down in value over time.

In the stock market, what you buy are shares of a company, shares that will be more valuable or less valuable based on the demand for them in the future. Because of this, you want to buy stocks that are currently in demand and that will continue to be.

This often means buying stocks near their 52-week highs. As distasteful as that may sound to some, if you study the history of some of the best-performing stocks, many of them spent a lot of time on the 52-week high list and many were considered "expensive" before beginning their next price ascents.
Stocks near their 52-week highs are in demand and will have a better chance of staying in demand, and thus moving higher, than other stocks.

5. Educate Yourself

There is no better time than now to be an investor in the stock market in terms of the amount of educational and informational resources available.

Fundamental data on all listed companies is free on most of the major financial websites (such as DailyFinance), and you can create stock charts with all sorts of technical indicators on sites such as BigCharts and FreeStockCharts.

For the latest market news you can go to Investors, CNBC, or TheStreet, and you can even create your own personal stocks scans based on both fundamental and technical factors on sites like Finviz.

And just so you know you are not alone, you can join StockTwits -- the biggest online investing community in the world -- for free and interact with investors and traders of all levels of experience.

All of this information allows you to be a more knowledgeable investor, with a better understanding of the stock market, and a better ability to profit from it.

The Lund Loop is a free once-weekly curated slice of what I am writing, reading and hearing about in finance, tech, music, pop culture, humor and the good life. But not sports or knitting ... ever! Subscribe now.

This is the granddaddy of them all. Start to type "emergency" into Google (GOOG), and the first suggestion is "emergency fund." The rule is to make sure you have six month's of living expenses tucked away in cash in case you losefyour job or suffer a financial setback. Of course it's important to have a financial safety net, but when you earn virtually nothing on your cash, this rule can cost you. For example, if six months of living expenses for you is $25,000, you'd be sacrificing close to $1,000 of income a year by keeping this money in a checking or money market account.

For years, I've broken the mold on this financial rule by telling clients they shouldn't have their emergency fund in cash. Instead, choose a short-term bond fund that pays 3 percent or higher for your safety net. If you need the money quickly, you can easily sell the fund and get access to the cash. If you don't need the cash –- and these emergency fund accounts are rarely used –- you can still make money on the assets.

Not so fast. There are many good reasons to contribute to a 401(k), such as tax savings, tax-deferred growth and a possible employer match, but there are also good reasons not to contribute as well. Don't blindly dump money into your 401(k) if you don't have an emergency reserve of some sort and there is a chance you will be laid off. It is taking longer for most to find a job, so if you think you may be out of work, make sure you have the resources to pay rent and buy food until you land a new job.

​Also, if your employer doesn't provide a match and you are in a low-income tax bracket, it may make more sense to pay the tax now (since you are in a low tax bracket) and invest in a Roth individual retirement account instead. Use this 401(k) vs. Roth IRA calculator to crunch the numbers.

You cannot cut your way to wealth. Too many people and financial advisers focus on trimming expenses when they should be focused on the other half of the equation -- income. I'm a proponent for living within one's means, but too often that creates an artificial barrier or ceiling. "This is what I make, so I have to cut back to save more," is often the thought process. Rather than living within your mean, work on increasing your means.

There are many ways you can make more money, including asking for a raise, boosting your skills –- your human capital –- and getting a promotion, starting a side project in the after-hours or going back to school and starting a new career. What you make today is not necessarily what you can make tomorrow. Cut unnecessary expenses and then use your energy to increase your income.

You should only save for your children's education if you can afford it. That means when you're on track to having enough assets for your retirement. Assuming you have the retirement assets and now want to save for college, most advisers will recommend a 529 college savings account.

Not so fast. These 529 accounts have some real advantages, such as tax-free growth of contributions if they are used for approved higher education expenses. This tax-free growth is a big benefit. However, if you withdraw money from this account and do not use it for approved higher education expenses, the gains will be subject to ordinary income tax and a 10 percent penalty.

The big risk is if you fully fund your child's college education but he or she decides to not go to college, drops out, finishes early or goes to a less expensive school. You have the ability change the beneficiary to another qualifying family member without penalty, but if you have just one child, there may not be anyone you can transfer the funds to. You would then have to liquidate the account and pay the tax and penalty. If you are undeterred and still want to pay for your child's college education, start with a small contribution into the 529 and fund up to a maximum of 60 percent of the cost in case one of the above scenarios occur.

The average age of cars on U.S. roads is 11.4 years. So if you're average, then it may make sense for you to buy a car -– especially a car a year or two old –- instead of leasing. However, if you do not intend on driving the same car for over a decade, a lease may be a much better option. A new study by swapalease.com found it was better to lease than buy based on its criteria. And under certain circumstances, you may be afforded a larger business deduction with a lease compared to a purchase.
cars

The certified financial planner designation is the gold standard when it comes to financial planning. I wouldn't think of hiring a financial planner if they weren't a CFP practitioner. However, just because you are working with a CFP doesn't mean you shouldn't research your adviser, his or her areas of expertise and how he or she charges. The CFP tells you he or she has advanced training in areas related to tax, investing and retirement planning; has passed a comprehensive and difficult exam; and has agreed to adhere to a high code of ethics.

The onus is on you to know what you need and to make sure your CFP financial planner can deliver. Don't get lulled into thinking that just because he or she have three letters after his or her name that he or she has been screened. Ask tough questions before you trust your money to anyone -– even a CFP.

Most financial pundits will advise taxpayers to have just enough taken out of their paycheck so when April 15 comes around, they will neither owe money nor receive a refund. The rationale is if you get a refund from the Internal Revenue Service, it means you paid too much in over the year -- and the government has had use of your money without paying you any interest. Keep the money and invest it yourself is the theory.

'Again, that's the theory, but reality is much different. It all comes down to psychology. I look at paying a bit more to the IRS as a forced and automatic savings account. Sure you won't earn interest, but human nature tells us you probably won't save the money anyway. There is a greater chance you will squander $100 a paycheck then if you receive a $2,400 check from the IRS. One approach takes a plan and discipline each month to save and invest while the other doesn't. A check from the IRS isn't an interest-free loan; it is an automatic savings plan.

Nobody wants to endure an IRS audit, but too often I see honest and ethical taxpayers avoid claiming certain deductions or taking certain positions that are completely legitimate because they fear it will increase their chances of an audit. First, your chances of being audited are small –- about 1 in 104 chance. If your return doesn't include income from a business, rental real estate or farm, or employee business expense deductions, your chances are even smaller -– 1 in 250. Second, if you and your tax preparer are not crossing the line, you have little to worry about. In fact, thousands of taxpayers get a check from the IRS at the end of the audit. Don't let a small chance of an audit keep you from taking advantage of every tax strategy for which you qualify.

Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life, or so the saying goes. It sounds good and feels good, but it's not necessarily true. Sometimes –- often, actually –- doing what you love can be a great hobby but not a good career. There are a lot of things I enjoy that I'll never make a dime doing. A better approach is to find something you enjoy, are good at and that you can get paid to That is the financial trinity you should aspire to find because it ties your interests with your skills with the marketplace

Follow this rule, and I'll send you straight to detention. We know college costs are soaring, and we don't want to bury our kids in college debt, so most parents prioritize college saving over retirement saving. Big mistake. If worse comes to worst, Junior can get a loan, work while in school or go to a less expensive school. Basically, Junior has decent options, and you have tough choices.

​If you haven't saved enough for retirement, you are stuck. There's very little you can do other than slash your expenses, work longer or both. Save for your own retirement first. That's the financial rule you should follow. If you have amassed so much wealth when your children head off to college that you can afford to help them, go for it. If you haven't, you'd be doing your kids a disservice by jeopardizing your own retirement by paying for their tuition.

Forex for Beginners

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Yiwen Nni

Nice article on overall, except for “For the latest market news you can go to CNBC, or TheStreet”Do you really consider CNBC and TheStreet as sources of financial news???!! Unless of course you are a fun of Cramer (which I think you are not, judging from your previous articles).If you want to get ruined surely and quickly, follow CNBC and TheStreet advice!

#4 is so off the mark that I had to laugh. Buying Priceline and Sirius at bargain basement prices are the 2 main reasons I personally am living the life of luxury... I do as I say. If you listen to useless tips for the so-called masses, you will perform with the masses. Investigate why a stock is near or at its all time low, and if the reasoning to buy holds, jump in and don't look back. Make your fortune and then comment on these silly advice columns.